Dear Readers
Tim Elderton recently shared some exciting news with us!
As most of you know, I’ve been heavily involved with the Byron Bay Solar Train project since it was just a thought bubble back in 2014. I just received the amazing news this morning that the Byron Bay Train has just been awarded the Tripadvisor, Traveller’s Choice Awards Winner 2024. See attached. Since the train commenced daily operations in December 2017, millions of reviews from Tripadvisor travellers have placed our train journey attraction in the top 10% worldwide! Nice to have the occasional win!
For more information regarding the Byron Bay Train, visit: https://byronbaytrain.com.au/
Our Job of the Week this week is in Sydney, Australia where we are looking for a Systems Engineer, Maritime.
Best Regards
Rail Personnel
Rail News
8 July 2024. Australia. ROIs open for high-speed rail project
The High Speed Rail Authority (HSRA) has now opened Registrations of Interest (ROIs) for industry stakeholders to get involved in shaping a high-speed rail network along Australia’s east coast. Industry engagement will play a critical role in shaping a high-speed rail network along Australia’s east coast by helping to inform the project’s planning and delivery. HSRA will be seeking to test the market on innovative ideas in design and delivery while taking advantage of tried and tested best-practice methods.
Source: Infrastructure Magazine
8 July 2024. New Zealand. KiwiRail Integrates City Rail Link Signalling Systems in Auckland
KiwiRail and Link Alliance have successfully integrated the City Rail Link signalling systems with the wider rail network in Auckland. This marks a key milestone in finishing City Rail Link and extending electric train services to Pukekohe. Later this year, the trains will run through the tunnels under Auckland city centre for the first time for testing and training. In addition, the new overhead electric lines between Papakura to Pukekohe were also recently powered up for the first time during a full network closure for Matariki weekend.
Source: Railway-News
8 July 2024. Germany. Siemens Mobility to Upgrade Berlin Metro Lines with CBTC
Siemens Mobility has been awarded a contract from Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) to introduce a Communications-Based Train Control System (CBTC) on metro lines U5 and U8 in Berlin. The Trainguard MT CBTC solution will enable semi-automated operation (GoA2) on the U5 line by 2029 and on the U8 line by 2032. This will increase the capacity of these lines by around 30%, with the technology allowing headways of less than 100 seconds between trains. This will also improve the reliability and punctuality of the two metro lines.
Source: Railway-News
8 July 2024. Japan. Japanese rail operator installs facial recognition ticket technology
Japanese rail operator Yamaman Co has introduced facial recognition technology to its services on the Yukarigaoka Line in Sakura, allowing people to pay for a ticket with their face in what is believed to be a first for the country. The upgrades to barriers along the line mean that passengers using the ultra-light rail network will be able to upload a picture of themselves to a ‘Eucalyptus Pass’ account and pair it with a credit card to enable automatic purchases when they enter a station.
Source: Railway Technology
8 July 2024. United Kingdom. Network Rail Chairman appointed Transport Minister
The Department for Transport has confirmed the appointment of Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill CBE as a Minister of State in the Department for Transport. Lord Hendy has been Chairman of Network Rail since July 2015 and was reappointed for a further two years in the role last June. He was previously the Commissioner of Transport for London from February 2006 until his switch to Network Rail. His appointment comes days after new Prime Minister Keir Starmer appointed Louise Haigh as the Secretary of State for Transport.
Source: Rail Technology Magazine
7 July 2024. Kazakhstan. KTZ begins taking delivery of CRRC locomotives
National railway KTZ has taken delivery of the first four of up to 200 locomotives which are to be supplied by CRRC under a US$1·3bn framework agreement signed when Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited China last October. The CKD6S diesel shunting locos being supplied by CRRC’s Ziyang plant have been developed to KTZ’s requirements. They have an electronically controlled fuel injection diesel engine complying with Stage IIIA emissions standards, a maximum speed of 80 km/h and are designed to operate in temperatures ranging from -40°C to +50°C.
Source: Railway Gazette
6 July 2024. Kenya. More coaches to boost capacity on Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway
A further 20 coaches which CRRC Nanjing Puzhen is supplying to increase capacity on the 480 km Standard Gauge Railway route from Mombasa to Nairobi were shipped from Shanghai at the end of June. The contract signed in September covers a mix of first, second and business class coaches, dining cars and generator cars. CRRC said the Kenyan Standard Gauge Railway is a ‘signature project’ under the Belt & Road Initiative, and a flagship of China’s strategy for its rail supply industry to ‘go global’.
Source: Railway Gazette
Job of the Week
Systems Engineer - Maritime, Sydney, Australia
Job ID#: 14911
Discipline: Telecommunications
Language: English
Job Description:
Our client is seeking a Systems Engineer - Maritime to provide technical engineering expertise in the development, implementation and support of Control Centre communications and information systems for our Maritime customers.
This role is based in Sydney, Australia and not open to overseas candidates.
Main Tasks
* Implementing maritime solutions in the control centres of customers, starting with the undertaking requirements analysis and engineering design.
* Advising customers on technical issues and clarify the feasibility of their requirements together with the internal technical team.
* Supporting the design of the system architecture and optimising the system from a cost-benefit perspective. This will include being the interface to our internal experts (e.g., software and product development or the internal support departments).
* Creation of technical documentation of systems and their interfaces as well as acceptance of internal and external deliverables for assigned work packages.
* System installation, deployment, configuration, integration and formal test and acceptance activities with customers, the project team, and other key stakeholders. These activities may be within the factory and/or on site at the customer's location to achieve System Acceptance with the Customer.
* Performing defect investigation including analysis of incidents and supporting the product development team in resolution and closure of defects as well as and providing feedback on new product versions.
* Provision of 2nd and 3rd level support for the customer and potential be available to support 24/7 on-call service.
* Maintain customer contact in relation to technical matters of the company's solutions.
* Travel to client sites within Australia and to the Head Office in Vienna for training
The above lists are not exhaustive, and the role may evolve to meet the overall objectives of the company.
Job Requirements
Qualifications
* A University qualification to the level of an Australian bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification in Engineering, Software, Information Technology, or related discipline.
* Technical education for software solutions, communication solutions, traceability processes and test engineering applicable to the role.
Experience and Skills
* 5+ years of project and/or support experience in Voice Communication Systems with particular focus on safety critical communications.
* Hands-on experience with specification, system installation, integration, and testing and verification.
* Solid network and IT infrastructure knowledge and are familiar with several of the following technologies and tools:
- Windows Server, Linux Server (Redhat, Ubuntu),
- Active Directory, Virtualisation (VMWare),
- Ansible, Cisco network components,
- Docker, Wireshark,
- Powershell, bash scripting,
- GIT, SIP/RTP, HTTP,
- databases (SQL, postgreSQL)
Contact: Renee Wade (renee@railpersonnel.com)
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